Merlin Arm & Vest Brochure - Lemac

Another
breakthrough
in camcorder
stabilization

The Steadicam Merlin Arm and Vest
THE STEADICAM MERLIN
and the NEW SIX-BEARING
METAL GIMBAL
The Merlin is by far the world’s lightest
and most advanced hand-held stabilizer.
Ultra-rigid aluminum construction enables
stable moving shots at unprecedented focal
lengths, and Garrett’s unique Folding-
Caliper hinge extends and retracts to
balance cameras as light as one-half pound
(.23kg), yet automatically seeks the compact
storage position.
By itself Merlin weighs just 12.8 oz.
(.36kg) without its stainless steel
add-on weights. With the standard
gimbal, Merlin was rated to
carry camcorders weighing
only as much as 5 lbs.
(2.27kg)
Now, with the new, precisionmachined
Six-Bearing Metal
Gimbal and a few additional
weights, Merlin can balance
camcorders weighing as much
as 7.5 lbs. (3.4kg). Of course
the additional weight will require
a great deal more effort.
The Merlin manual and video
teach techniques that help share the
load with both hands, and this works
for grabbing those quick, spectacular
moving shots, but shooting
entire weddings, or sporting
events or theatrical performances
can become quite strenuous,
even with lighter cameras.
Enter the new Merlin Arm
and Vest!
THE MERLIN BECOMES
WEIGHTLESS!
THE New MERLIN ARM and
VEST make extended shooting nearly
effortless.
Now Tiffen introduces the
world's most advanced
ultra-light Arm and
Vest. Even with
heavy cameras –
up to seven
and one
half
pounds (3.4kg) with Metal Gimbal –
your Merlin can now fly for hours without
undue fatigue, and preserve all the flexibility
and reach of your own arms.
The Merlin Vest is the lightest and thinnest
ever made – it can even be worn
under a tuxedo jacket – and it’s designed
to fit the entire gamut of human sizes and
shapes. For 50 lb. (23kg) eight-year-olds
or 330 lb. (150kg) linebackers, the Merlin
Vest provides complete comfort and functionality
for extended productions and
long continuous shots. All adjustments
are "no-tools", including the right-arm/
left-arm.
The Merlin Arm is ultra-light and
extremely capable. It’s a 7/8 scale version
of its big brothers, the Flyer, G-50 and
G-70 arms, and provides the same legendary
performance and flexibility including
instant, knob-adjustable control of lifting
power for camera payloads between 2.5
and 7.5 lbs. (1.1 to 3.4kg) The Merlin
Arm also provides enormous vertical
lifting range (28” or 71cm) and full
‘iso-elasticity’ so you’ll need only ounces
of force to maintain the highest or lowest
lens heights (way above the head to below
the waist). Like its big brothers, the
Merlin Arm includes two-axis adjustment
of the arm-to-body angle so that people
of differing shapes can adjust the lifting
angle to their most comfortable posture.
Together The Merlin Arm and Vest
actually increase your shooting options.
You can ease the Merlin back against
your body and shoot ‘handheld’, with
both hands on the camera, and fly seamlessly
back off the shoulder and continue
moving. With practice you can even fly
the Merlin one-handed right off of the
mounting post during a shot (docking the
arm to the vest with the other hand) and
execute those unique Merlin shot opportunities
– ultra-low- or ultra-high-angles
– and then ease it back onto the arm
to continue the shot.
The Six-Bearing Metal Gimbal,
and the Merlin Arm and Vest are the
first releases of a suite of planned
Merlin Accessories that will further
enhance the professional capabilities
of the world’s lightest and most
advanced camcorder stabilizer:
The Steadicam Merlin.

Specifications:
MERLIN:
• Folded size, without weights: 3.5 x 2 x 11"
(9 x 5 x 28cm)
• Open size: 3.5 x 3.5 x 7" (9 x9 x 18cm)
(min. arc) to 13.5" (34cm) (max. arc)
• Weight by itself: 12.8 oz (.36kg).
• Rigid all-aluminum construction
“supports telephoto shooting”
• Micrometer stage for precise
horizontal balance
• Precision caliper-adjusted
vertical balance
• Patented ‘Folding-Caliper’ spar geometry
automatically seeks true folding position
• Ultra-light: (weighs one third of nearest
competitor!) (by itself weighs less than a
can of soda)
• Tough, modular, user-serviceable
construction
ARM:
• Total Payload: Knob-adjustable from
4 to 15 lbs (1.8 to 6.8 kg).
• Arm Weight: 5.1 lbs (2.3 kg)
• Lifting Range: 28 vertical inches (71 cm)
• Mounting: Two axis adjustment of
arm-to-body angle, with quick-release
right-hand/left-hand changeover
• Compactable for travel
VEST:
• Weight: 2.6 lbs (1.18kg)
• Size Range: Fits the widest variety of
human shapes and sizes of any Steadicam
vest (from 50 lb. [23kg] eight-year-olds or
330 lb. [150kg] linebackers!)
• Fasteners: Thin, all-hook and loop fasteners
permit unobtrusive use and ultra-compact
disassembly and transport. With the
newly added quick release buckle system
and added back support pad, the vest is
now even more adjustable and comfortable.
This also allows the user to quickly get in
and out of the vest quickly and quietly.
The STEADICAM ® MERLIN
is ultra-light, ultra-rigid, ultra precise,
folds spectacularly and is beautiful –
in short, the ideal instrument for today’s
videographers with camcorders weighing
5 pounds (2.27kg) or less. For documentaries,
weddings, news segments, commercials,
even low-budget features, the Merlin shines.
In practiced hands, it performs as impressively
as the big $60,000 Steadicam, yet
remains ultimately unobtrusive. The Merlin
is not only stable, it is also an inherently
graceful way to hold a camera – not only
for big moves and running around, but also
for those subtle, imperceptible and elegant
displacements of the lens that cannot be
achieved any other way.
And now, with the new Merlin Arm and
Vest, you’ll be able to shoot longer and ‘fly’
more easily and precisely than with anything
else on the market.
TE Steadicam Merlin Arm and Vest CAERA STABILIIN SYSTE

Steadicam
Merlin.
BRILLIANTLY
CONCEIVED.
AFFORDABLE.
upper spar
precision trim
stage micrometer
adjustments
patented 3-axis
gimbal handle
assembly for
precise control
at unprecedented
focal lengths
large trim stage
with level for secure
camera mounting
upper caliper
locking knob
lower tapered
weight cap
trim stage
front tapered
weight cap
patented folding caliper
hinge for precise
geomentry whether open,
closed or shoulder mounted
lower caliper
locking knob
ultra-light, ultra-rigid
aluminum alloy
upper and lower spars
caliper adjusting knob
caliper release lever
ultra compact folded design
folding caliper hinge
6 threaded precision
stainless steel
balance weights
rapid-mounting
locking dovetail plate
accessory tripod
mounting plate
lower tapered
weight cap
Optional Accessories:
Battery Powered Obie Light
INNOVATION STARTS AT TIFFEN.
The Tiffen Company
90 Oser Avenue, Hauppauge, NY 11788
Phone: 631-273-2500
Fax: 631-273-2557
www.tiffen.com
Travel Case
Table Top Stand
Tripod / "C" Stand
Docking Bracket
Covered by U. S. patents 5,435,515,
5,360,196, 7,625,090 and pending
foreign patents. Additional patents
pending. Steadicam reserves the right to
change specifications without prior notice.
Tiffen-Steadicam
6933 San Fernando Road,
Glendale, CA 91201
Phone: 818-843-4600
Toll-Free: 800-593-3331
Fax: 818-843-4321
Tiffen International Ltd., Unit 5
Avonbury Business Park, Howes Lane
Bicester OX26 2UA, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0) 870 100-1220
Fax: +44 (0) 1869 321 766
0210